European authorities dismantle criminal messaging service Matrix

European authorities have taken down a messaging app called Matrix, describing it as a service “made by criminals for criminals”.

Matrix was a sophisticated encrypted messaging service that Dutch authorities discovered on the phone of a criminal who murdered a Dutch journalist in 2021, Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, said in a statement.

It was accessible by invitation only with 40 servers in multiple countries, Europol said.

A six-month subscription, costing between €1,300 and €1,600, gave access to video calls, tracking transactions, and anonymous use of the internet.

Authorities intercepted and monitored the messaging service for three months, deciphering over 2.3 million messages in 33 languages, according to the agency. 

“The messages that were intercepted are linked to serious crimes such as international drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering,” Europol said. 

The operation involved authorities from the Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Italy, and Spain. 

Authorities seized €145,000 in cash and half a million euros in cryptocurrencies, Dutch police said. 

Criminals are using both “legitimate” messaging services using end-to-end encryption as well as cybercriminal forums and marketplaces, according to Europol’s Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). 

The move to take down Matrix comes after the dismantling of similar services such as Ghost, Exclu, and EncroChat in recent years.

“Criminals use a larger number of smaller service providers and deploy more complex technology,” Dutch police said, adding that “serious criminals wrongly believe that they can still operate in secret”.

The cross-border operation included actions in four countries. Arrests occurred in France and Spain. Houses were searched in Lithuania and the main servers were taken down in France and Germany.